Pulver (Sherlock, Spooks) will play Ann O'Neill, an elegant Baroness whose wartime meeting with Fleming alters the course of the rest of their lives.

"I am thrilled to be playing Ann, a real life high society siren worthy of Fleming's finest fictional femme fatales," said Pulver.

"In extraordinary times Ann had the ear of politicians as powerful as Churchill and counted artists like Lucian Freud among her friends, yet was consumed by a torrid romance with the great Ian Fleming; a twisted and passionate love that would last the rest of their lives."

Also cast in Fleming is Annabelle Wallis (Pan Am, The Tudors) as Muriel, a young girl who catches Ian's eye, and Lesley Manville (Vera Drake) as the author's mother Eve.

[Above: Dominic Cooper will play Ian Fleming in Sky Atlantic's new biopic]

Ian's brother - the celebrated travel writer and war hero Peter - will be portrayed by Hellboy's Rupert Evans, while Samuel West (Mr Selfridge) will play director of naval intelligence Admiral John Godfrey - who shaped Fleming's portrayal of Bond's boss M.

The final cast addition is Anna Chancellor (The Hour), who will play the Admiral's secretary Lieutenant Monday - one of Fleming's inspirations for Miss Moneypenny.

Fleming will be shot on location in the United Kingdom and Budapest in early 2013 and will transmit on Sky Atlantic HD later this year.

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Dr No (1962)007: Sean ConneryThe Bond Girl: Honey Rider (Ursula Andress)The Villain: Dr No (Joseph Wiseman)Trivia: In the film's opening gun barrel sequence, stuntman Bob Simmons is standing in for Sean Connery as James Bond. Connery shot his own version for Goldfinger.
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